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Like many, looking to relocate from SF Bay Area to the Asheville area. South Marshall Township/Marshall and Barnardsville are two places that have properties that look interesting to us.
We are fairly middle of the road politically (looking to leave the ultra liberal CA/West Coast), like land and open space, but are bi-racial (Asian and White).
Not worried about work as this is 2nd home and ultimately retirement home. Trying to stay within 30 minutes of downtown Asheville.
I have seen some info re Marshall, but little on Barnardsville, probably because it is so small, but interested in more current views given how much posted about the two is somewhat old.
Also, is New Leicester Highway still really bad? There are some properties out that way, but the distance to shopping/Asheville is a negative to us (18-20 minutes to Ingles for example).
My girlfriend has a Marshall address, but is basically equidistant between Marshall and Weaverville. Marshall doesn’t have much - an Ingles, a downtown Main St. along the river with a couple of small businesses, restaurants, brewery, etc. She’s about ten minutes from the big box shopping in Weaverville, fifteen or so to N. Asheville, and twenty or so to downtown Asheville and Tunnel Road shopping.
It’s a quasi-rural area. Definitely check internet service and stuff prior to committing to anything. Madison County is more conservative than Buncombe, but it’s pretty live and let live.
I wouldn’t live farther out than where she’s at. There’s very few restaurants out that way - a couple of local places in downtown Weaverville, fewer in Marshall, and some fast food chains and a couple diners in Weaverville. We end up in North Asheville a lot for something to eat after work.
Barnardsville is basically a dot on the map. Anything is going to be a trip back to Mars Hill or Weaverville. Beautiful area, but too rural for my tastes.
Property taxes in Madison County are quite a bit lower than Buncombe, and property is also cheaper.
Thanks for the response. I understand your point about distances/times. That is one of the reasons for us trying to stay within a certain distance of Asheville. It's that balancing act that you have to walk to decide whether to jump on a property or not.
We are visiting this weekend to look at properties and will do some driving around to get a real feel about distances. Nothing beats doing the drive to decide what you can live with.
OP, have you looked at or visited the Hendersonville area? It's close to Asheville and is a standalone in terms of offering services like retail/shopping, healthcare and other necessities. It's a progressive community largely and while not as much so as Asheville, fairly close and improving given it's a great option for those unable to afford Asheville real estate prices, but want to retain proximity. Downtown Hendersonville is a gem and neighboring towns like Brevard are inviting for leisure time as well.
Thanks for the response. I understand your point about distances/times. That is one of the reasons for us trying to stay within a certain distance of Asheville. It's that balancing act that you have to walk to decide whether to jump on a property or not.
We are visiting this weekend to look at properties and will do some driving around to get a real feel about distances. Nothing beats doing the drive to decide what you can live with.
Your big issue with Madison County is that it is so, so small.
Marshall proper is basically a Main St. in a valley along the French Broad river. There's a bit of retail on Highway 25, but not much. The downtown area is prone to flooding from being along the river bank. The high school was originally on a small island in the middle of the river - that school was relocated because of frequent flooding, and the building/island turned into a community center/park.
There's some nascent attempts at gentrification downtown - brewery, bar in an old hotel, restaurant or two, natural food store, etc., but downtown has lots of vacant buildings and is many years away from being healthy, if it ever gets there.
Marshall also seems to have a more industrial background than most WNC towns. You can see that in the downtown building layout. It really resembles somewhere in West Virginia or Kentucky more than NC.
Thanks. Got back from a last minute trip and looked at both Marshall and Barnardsville.
Marshall is small, with both a newer ”downtown” area with the chain stores and more historic downtown with some small shops, coffee shop etc. However, the historic part appeared a little run down to the wife give the empty and older buildings. It does seem to be trying to revitalize itself.
Barnardsville was a spot on the map, with really very little there.
But we liked Barnardville better because while it is smaller, it did not seem to have as many run-down or shack-like places that we saw driving through Marshall and to the property of interest.
In the end, both seem about the same distance to Weaverville, Mars Hill and downtown Asheville. So I think it will fall upon whichever property we like best. Both properties have good Internet (fiber or very quick satellite), so I am happy there.
We did look at Hendersonville, but the wife did not like the downtown area. We may have missed some things, but she also wants to be closer to downtown Asheville and I would prefer the drive from the north rather than from the south.
Thanks. Got back from a last minute trip and looked at both Marshall and Barnardsville.
Marshall is small, with both a newer ”downtown” area with the chain stores and more historic downtown with some small shops, coffee shop etc. However, the historic part appeared a little run down to the wife give the empty and older buildings. It does seem to be trying to revitalize itself.
Barnardsville was a spot on the map, with really very little there.
But we liked Barnardville better because while it is smaller, it did not seem to have as many run-down or shack-like places that we saw driving through Marshall and to the property of interest.
In the end, both seem about the same distance to Weaverville, Mars Hill and downtown Asheville. So I think it will fall upon whichever property we like best. Both properties have good Internet (fiber or very quick satellite), so I am happy there.
We did look at Hendersonville, but the wife did not like the downtown area. We may have missed some things, but she also wants to be closer to downtown Asheville and I would prefer the drive from the north rather than from the south.
Surprised at your wife’s reaction to downtown Hendersonville. Are you sure you saw downtown? To each his/her own, but Hendersonville has one of the prettiest downtowns of any small town in America, IMO. With winding streets, specialty boutiques, great restaurants, outdoor dining, and a number of family-oriented festivals throughout the year, this is small town America at its finest. We live about 10 minutes southwest of Hendersonville on the Brevard side, and the area between Hendersonville and Brevard has some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot. We drove this route again yesterday; every time we make this drive, I continue to be amazed at this area’s beauty. By the way, Hendersonville is about 22 miles from Asheville. Not sure exactly what you’re looking for and your budget, but there are some very nice areas south and southwest of Hendersonville. It is conveniently located close to the retail areas south of Asheville. It really is a matter of personal preference though. My favorite small towns in WNC are Hendersonville/Flat Rock, Brevard, Waynesville, and Black Mountain. Perhaps, if the areas you visited were too remote, you may want to consider some of these.
We may have missed the downtown -- we thought we drove through it in the past, but I think we missed it looking at all the things showing up on google maps that we did not see. Will have to go again when we return later this month :-)
The whole area is beautiful, which is what attracted us to the region. The wife might try to teach or get a job at one of the universities, so North has been our focus, and also it has a little better traffic going into Asheville from our limited experience. But the south has slightly better prices. I think it will be mostly personal preference when we finally decide on a location.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lizap
Surprised at your wife’s reaction to downtown Hendersonville. Are you sure you saw downtown? To each his/her own, but Hendersonville has one of the prettiest downtowns of any small town in America, IMO. With winding streets, specialty boutiques, great restaurants, outdoor dining, and a number of family-oriented festivals throughout the year, this is small town America at its finest. We live about 10 minutes southwest of Hendersonville on the Brevard side, and the area between Hendersonville and Brevard has some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot. We drove this route again yesterday; every time we make this drive, I continue to be amazed at this area’s beauty. By the way, Hendersonville is about 22 miles from Asheville. Not sure exactly what you’re looking for and your budget, but there are some very nice areas south and southwest of Hendersonville. It is conveniently located close to the retail areas south of Asheville. It really is a matter of personal preference though. My favorite small towns in WNC are Hendersonville/Flat Rock, Brevard, Waynesville, and Black Mountain. Perhaps, if the areas you visited were too remote, you may want to consider some of these.
We may have missed the downtown -- we thought we drove through it in the past, but I think we missed it looking at all the things showing up on google maps that we did not see. Will have to go again when we return later this month :-)
The whole area is beautiful, which is what attracted us to the region. The wife might try to teach or get a job at one of the universities, so North has been our focus, and also it has a little better traffic going into Asheville from our limited experience. But the south has slightly better prices. I think it will be mostly personal preference when we finally decide on a location.
Agreed. There are many beautiful areas in WNC. If your wife is focusing on UNC-Asheville, then Weaverville and areas north would be a better fit. You may also want to take a look at Black Mountain. We have gone into Asheville on 26 several times in the last 2 weeks. While there was a good bit of traffic, it was flowing well. They are widening the interstate between here and Asheville and when they get it finished, traffic congestion should be much better.
Thanks. Got back from a last minute trip and looked at both Marshall and Barnardsville.
Marshall is small, with both a newer ”downtown” area with the chain stores and more historic downtown with some small shops, coffee shop etc. However, the historic part appeared a little run down to the wife give the empty and older buildings. It does seem to be trying to revitalize itself.
Barnardsville was a spot on the map, with really very little there.
But we liked Barnardville better because while it is smaller, it did not seem to have as many run-down or shack-like places that we saw driving through Marshall and to the property of interest.
In the end, both seem about the same distance to Weaverville, Mars Hill and downtown Asheville. So I think it will fall upon whichever property we like best. Both properties have good Internet (fiber or very quick satellite), so I am happy there.
We did look at Hendersonville, but the wife did not like the downtown area. We may have missed some things, but she also wants to be closer to downtown Asheville and I would prefer the drive from the north rather than from the south.
The thing to remember is that these "run-down shacks" are typical of anywhere in Appalachia that is not a tourist town or a city that has some other economic anchor.
Marshall city limits are under 1,000 residents. It's tiny. You can have a Marshall address, but be in unincorporated Madison County.
I don't know about the downtown area, where city services, if there are any, ought to be, but my girlfriend has no city trash collection service available where she is. You load up your trash (and recyclables) and drive to a collection center a bit past the Marshall Ingles. I saw a Model X in there when we took trash off Saturday morning. Virtually everyone uses the collection center.
I roll my city provided trash can out to the road, and it gets collected for about $2.50/week here. I find it mind-boggling that people here are hauling their own household trash off a few times a week.
The downtown area in Marshall is not "new" - it is an old river town, and there are basically no new structures down there. I'm not sure where you went, but I have a hard time imaging that someone would find anything off Marshall's Main St. as "new." There are no chains in downtown Marshall - it's mostly dilapidated buildings along the riverfront with a handful of gentrification attempts and locally owned small businesses. That downtown is years away from being competent or competitive with nearby cities in WNC. The best place to eat is the pizza kitchen open in the brewery on the weekends.
There's no big box shopping in Marshall. The most they have is an Ingles - a regional grocery chain, and a few restaurants along Highway 25. Walmart, Lowe's, Publix, Hobby Lobby, are all in Weaverville. Anything more substantial than that is in Asheville.
Other than "rundown structures," nothing you've said really lines up to Marshall.
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